The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, April 18, 1913, Image 1
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Ihe___Camden Chronicle
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. _ ___ ?***>??. SOUTH CAKOUNA. l?ttt?.%Y, M ic.i, IH, !,>!;? !' ' ?
? ? ? M NUMjIKIt 51.
FARM lands in the heart of southern
PINES? THE PALMETTO STATE AND ITS RE
MARKABLE PROGRESS IN REGENT YEARS
flowing Description of Ter
ritory in and Aronnd Cam
den. Plantations Produce
large Crops.--This City as
a Tourist Resort.? Interest-!
iag Article From Southern
Railway's Southern Field.
Five years ago a young German
of noble family living near Bremen
became Interested In the reports of
development in the Southeastern
Baited States. The result was that
he made a personal Investigation
Kid settled within a few miles of
Columbia, the capital city of South
Carolina. WhaA this young man
ka? accomplished aud the Influence
he has had for betterment of con
ditions in his new location show
concretely the part taken by intel
ligent and industrious newcomers in
the remarkable advance made in -the
last census decade by South Caro
lina. . '
Since 1900 the State has more
than trebled in millions of dollars
the value of her annual agricultu
ral products, which are now worth
?ore than $1 60,000,000; more than
lour million spindles are whirring
is South Carolina textile mills and
value of manufactured products
has increased from $53,336,000 to
ever $124,000,000. These figures
?re from the annual report of Col.
1. J, Watson, Commissioner of Ag
riculture, Commerce and Industrie#,
who has made of his branch of the
?tate government a powerful Influ
?ace for progress.
The German homeseeker had
traveled widely; he had seen ser
vice as secretary of the German le
gation at Pekin and was stationed
at that post during' the Boxer up
rising. So he knew of the attrac
tions in many parts of the globe
prior to selecting South Caorllna as
a location for his home.
Tho place he chose did not look
4heu very promising. It was eigh
th tf act-es In a section of sandy hills,
known locally as "black jack" land
from the fact that It supported a
growth of small "black Jacks" oaks.
Fifteen acres were cleared and the
?atlre place was bought at approx
imately $8 an acre.
Tho black jack oaks were cut
and sold for cordwotod and the pine
was sold for lumber. Iii this way
forty-five acres were cleared for
?ultivation and an attractive bunga
low, necessary barns and outbuild
tngtj were put up. The place wuh
named "Wiltekind Farm" and from
the first it well-chosen rotation wuh
Boleotedby which the acreage it) di
vided into 3 parts. On one one
third cotton i? grown; on a second
third, corn, and 011 the remaining
area cowpea* are planted, follQvlOf
oats.
The eotton production has been in
creasing steadily, as have other
yields, following this crop system,
and now the cotton makes nearly a
hale to the acre. Beef cattlo are
fed for local butchers in Columbia
and the manure as fast us made is
spread on the land.
There Is a registered Berkshire
boar which uerves -the entire neigh
borhood and the owners fee is col
lected in the shape of pigB. A
registered Jersey bull also has im
proved the quality of stock in the
neighborhood and fifty or sixty
White Wyandottes supply the owner
table and the neighbors wi-th oc
casional "aettings."
A small vineyard is stocked with
Maderia and Scuppernong grapes
from which sixty to seventy gallons
of wine for home consumption are
made and -the garden supplies vege
tables and fruit . for the table.
Strawberries had blossomed and
some fruit had formed March 11.
A six-horsepower gasoline engine
runs a dynamo, supplying current
for a circuit with twenty lights.
There are electric lights in all rooms
of the bungalow, and the kitchen
is equipped for cooking with elec
tricity.
The gas,oline engine hau connec
ions for running the pump that fills
the tank supplying water for the
barns, kltchon, house und baths; a
barrel churn is operated by the
same engine, a grind atone for
sharpening farm tools, a saw. for a
small woodworking plant and anoth
er saw for firewood, a feed grinder
and drills and the forge in the farm
blacksmith shop.
The home 1b situated at ?the crest
of a gentle slope and in its arrange
ments and conveniences leaveB little
.to be desired. The state Commis
ioner of Agriculture is authority
that the place is worth today from
100 to $150 an acre. It was bought'
less than five years ago ? remem
ber? ?for about $8 an acre.
This Is in Richland CoUnty, the
geograghical center of the State and
at the meetingplace of the Pied
mont and CoaBtal plain sections. Co
lumbia and Sumter in the adjoin
ing county of the same name, and
Camden in Kershaw County, to the
north, are the most important cities
in this immediate section, and no
table developments are taking place
at these three points and in their
tributary country.
Columbia is just below the junc
tion of the Broad and Saluda Hlvers
and on the east bank of the Con
garee. It was chosen as the seat
of State government In 1786, and
grew steadily in Importance until
the war between the States.
On February 17, 1866, Blierruan
passed through (he city find left
behind hint a maun of smouldering
ruins. Tim Htatehouuo beara marks
of the urtillery fire directed against
it by Sherman's men from the
helghtB across the river. So Co
lumbia is really only 4 8 years old.
it was rebuilt afer having been
burned in 1866.
Columbia claims in the Olympia,
the largest cotton mill under one
roof In the world. The city's tex
tile industry counts more than a
quarter million spindles and moro
than 40,000 bales of cotton are con
sumed annually here.
Weekly bank clearings exceed
$1,000,000. In the last year the
city spent more than $260,000 for
municipal improvements, and the
streets are well paved and attract
ively parked.
Among industrial establishment
are fertilizer mills, cotton oil mills
and lumber mills. On the Broad
River, 20odd miles above, the city
a water power site is being devel
oped. The dam is 34 feet high and
2,700 feet long, and the plant, with
preHent Installation, will have a ca
pacity of 18,000 horsepower, which
will be brought to Columbia over
transmission lines. '
The capital 1h au educational ?fil
ter, numbering among its schools
and colleges the University of
South Carolina, a College for Wo
men, Columbia College, Presbyterian
Theological Seminary, Lutheran The.
ologlcal Seminary, two colored uni
versities and two business colleges.
In the public school system of the
city are nine buildings, including the
high school and colored school and
two night schools. The total enroll
ment for the year 1911-12 was 3,
9 4 9. The population of the city,
according to the city directory, is
49,107.
The Chamber of Commerce was re
organized in December, 1912, and
under the new administration dues
are paid 'for 1,300 members.
Building operations are active.
Among construction work now
nearlng completion are two bahk
buildings, one 14 and the other 11
stories high. A handsome hotel is
nearly finished and will be opened
by May 1.
Excellent railroad service is given
to Columbia by the Southern and
other lines. The location of the
city makes it easy of access from
every part of the state and schedule
are so arranged, Columbians declare
visitors from every part of the stute
can make a round trip to Ihe capi
tal tn one day.
One of the evidences of progres
sive tendencies in Columbia was the
Fifth National Corn Exposition, held
in that city In February and attract
from all over the United StateB.
.Among Richland County farms of
ed scientists, exhibitors and visitors
notoworth achievement art' plan
tat ions owned by Thomas Taylor, Jrv
and A. K. Con/ales,
The Taylor plantation covers l?
060 acres, and one of Its features in
the dairy herrd, supplying milk for
(Columbia, Aiken ami Auguiitn. There
are H-numhor of big hIIoh on this
farm, oiio with a rapacity of 1,000
tfeus, ami the others holding 600
and J 60 tons, respectively. Reef
cattle are fed profitably and manure
la furnished in this way for itnprov
in#? ho 1 1 fertility.
One hundred and thirty-odd Jur *
Beys are registered, and at the head
of the dulry herd are flVe bulls out
of famous damn, hy sires prominent
in it he Joraey world.
On the Gonsales plantation espe
cial attention in given to {eeding
beef cattle, with good results aa re
gards both Improved fertility and
profit.
On the state farm, near Colum
bia's outskirts, systematic work la
the rule in Heed selection, fertilizer
totttB, crop methods and other im
portant agricultural subjects.
Humter a DintrlbutliiK l*?*nt.
Sumter County lien to the east ol
lUchland, connection by rail over th
Southern between Sumter, the coun
ty seat, and the atate capital, a
distance of 39 mlloB, affording a
convenient schedule. Railroad lines
cross the county In every direction,
and the seat of the county govern
ment has thirty-six passenger trains
daily, making it a natural distribut
ing point for Manufacturing and job
bing establishments.
j A telephone factory which devotes
! extensive space to magneto making
is the chief industry, although there
| are important lumber, brick, ma
chinery, l<fe, buggy, wagon, cotton
j oil und cement pipe plantB. One ot
the largest cypress mills in the sout
is located a few miles from the city.
The early settlers in this county
were herdsmen, who moved their
cattle front place to place as pre
ferred range occurred. Then the
T immense areas of pine gave profi
table Opportunities, and in addition
I to the production of beef, porrk and
j hldeB, more attention was given to
j tar, turpentine, rosin, staves, shin
! gles and lumber.
Corn and wheat were the chief of
| the early day crops, and Indigo was
i grown for export until KJast India
competition and the war with Eng
iand put a stop to this industry.
Rice, wheat and oatB were the
chief crops up to the Civil War,
j which brought a revolution In agrl
I culture that placed cotton in the
: lead.
| Discussing Sumter County, the U.
S^ Soil Survey report says:
t i4With Buch a variety of soils as
is found In Sumter county, one
' should be able to carry on almost
any line of farming desired. Very
; little attention has been given to
the raising of livestock, tho there
are lands -tliat could be~ utilized
more profitably forthis purpose than
in any other way. Bermuda grass
does well on most of the soils. The
sandy soils are especially adapted
to truck, altho at present they are
little ?used for this purpose , not
enough being grown (or home con- '
sumption. There lt? utt excellent i
opportunity for this industry and
tin trying. The Norfolk soils would
also grow flno grapes and t ho Or
angeburg soils flno poaches.
"Tho bounty road* are in very
good condition and much Interest/Is
being takon In tholr Improvement.
The best road material available in
eomposrd of nand and (day. (iood
roads aire being rapidly extended
to all parts of (ho county. Artesian
wells of excellent flow are secured
In tho eastern part of tho county,
at a depth of from 76 to VJ 00 ft."
t'rop contests do not indlcato tho
average yields In any community,
but they do show tho possibilities) of
tho land. Therefore tho achieve -
meut ?f K. J. White, wIioho farm 1h
near Sumter, will indlcato what, can
In* done Mr: White made 838 1-3
bunholH of sweet potatoes on one
aero of laud, and wold tho potatoes
for seed at $ 1 and $1.26 per bush
el. The slips were bought and wet
out May 12, 1912. To prepure for
these allpn the Kround wan broken
with a two-horse plow and towh
wore laid off three feet, bedded out
with four furrows, and tho fertili
zer was applied after breaking out
the middles.
Ah booii uh the Hlipu took root
they wore worked with a 24 -inch
Hweop. Altogether, thoy wore plow
ed four timeB. and dug November
5. Expenses in connection with tho
crop are placed by Mr. White at
$62, Itemized au follows: Slips, $16:
fertilizer, $30; labor, $6; land rent,
$10. At $1 a bushel hlH potato
crop front one acre netted $776.
In the contest for .avearge yields
on an aero of cotton, an acre of
corn, and an acre of peas, Mr. White
made 96 8-10 bushels of corn, *2,631
pounds of seed cotton, 10 1-2 bush
els of peas, and 4,932 pounds of
cured peavine.
J. W. Odum made 6^360 pounds of
cured peavine hay on a single acre.
Local banks offer cash prizes that
make test acres worth while, One
bank gives $100 to the farmor mak
ing the greatest avorage yield on
four acres, and $100 to the man
making the greatest net profit on
that acreage. Another bank gives
$200 oach year In the three - year
contest Intended to stimulate pro
per rotation of crops, contest judges
prescribing the crop syBtem, which
covers the three yearg.
Mr. White's farm includes 276
acres and his cotton crop averages
a bale to the acre. He averages
40 buuhels of corn to the acre on a
40 -acre field, and in 1911* made 76
bushelH per , acre on a five - acre i
field. ?]
Tho .Record of KM) Acre*. j
Last year, from 100 acres of land,
100 tons of cured hay wore made,
and 3,000 bushels of oatB. At $20
per ton, the hay was worth $2,000,
and at 66' cents a bushel the oats
were worth $1,960. This makes a
total of $3,960 for" the crop from
tho 100 acreB. When the oats were
cut, the peart followed Immediately.
The soil is a light,, Bandy loam,
to which the cowpeas add much hu
nt uh. Feeding beef cattle is also
practised for the purpose of build
( Continued on I^ast Page.)
A GROUP OF EXHIBITS AT CAMDEN'S ! FIFTH ANNUAL HORSE SHOW
N<>- 1. A fin? sepcinien oY saddle horse* owned by a Kershaw county man. No. 2. Mules raised In South Carolina and prize-winners.
?*ns nnd drives this roadster; J. _ N. Klrven Is doing much for the horso industry in this state. No.
?*ned by George T. Little, of Camden. No. 6. Dr. W. C. Moore's bay gelding,, a classy animal.
unique appearance. The day of the single road ox is not entirely in Egypt or the Orient. No. 8.
wlth certain qualification* -that go to make up aUndard pedigree stock.
. .. m ?
No. 3.
_. A Darlington ' breeder
4. B. L.. Outlaw and his handsome roadsters. - No. 5. ThU pair -la
No. 7. John Shields raised and owns this single-harness roadster of
A typical South Carolina saddler. No/ 9; A perfect type of roadstei*
^ ' I -( Courtesy of Columbia Record.)
L*. >-? ^ vii.' '
MURDERED COMPANION;
PREACHER HELD IN JAIL
Crime Committed Near Lugoff on
Monday and Murderer Arretted
at Bethune in Afternoon.
The body of a foreigner was
found last Monday about midday on
tho Kennedy plantation, Ridden in
a culvert under tho roadway of tho
Soabourd Air Line. Kxaminutiou
nbowed (but the man bad (wo bal
lot bol?H in blH body- one through
tbo nock and another entering the
arm.
The Miction master and his crew
working between Camden and Lu
goff made the discovery- -the man's
foot protruding out of the culver(
with his head wrapped in his coat.
The body; was carried to Lugoff
where the Coroner viewed the re
mains and it proved to be that of
George Simons, one' of two men
claiming to bo Syrian preachers who
were seen in Camden earlior in the
day soliciting aid for a church lo
cated soniewhero in the old country.
After leaving Camden the men
walked in the direction of Lugoff
and were seen by the section mas
ter. Lator he met one of the men
on the river bridge returning to
Camden., and going further found
the other in the culvert with his
feet protruding out.
Sheriff Huckabee wan notified
and got in communication with
nearby stations, with the resull
tliat ho received a. telephone
message from Doth une stating that
the man wanted was taken from
the afternoon train there he hav^
ing boarded the train at Shepard.
To the officers he gave his name as
ltev. BenJ. Johns, but to Mr. Kozma,
who speaks -the man's language he
gave his name as Abraham Michael
and Bald that he knew nothing of
his companion except that he left
him beyond the river ? his compan
ion going towards Columbia and ho
returning to dheraw.
While there were no eye
witnesses to the killing it is
the belief that the man killed
his companion, robbed him of his
money and tried to cover the crime
by concealing his body in the cul
vert. When arrested h? Mel in
hlB handbag a ladles handbag, five
f pocket knives and tho sum of $386
[in currency. No revolver was found
(on him and it supposed he threw
l it away. j
I A paper purporting to be t*is ere-1
, dentialB, signed by Burr L. Bixler,
pastor of tho Advent Christian
Church, and dated Live Oak, Fla.,
Dec. 27, 1912, was found on the
prisoner which read: "Have looked
tliru the credentials nf tha Rev. ?_
BenJ. John. So far as 1 am able
to say he appeasr to be worthy of
any aid that you may be led of God
to place inhishands."
Another link in the chain of evi
dence against the prisoner develop- -
ed Tuesday when a suit of clothes
was found in a house near Shepard
station which proved to be the suit
which -the man had on when the
killing occurred. The clothes show
ed blodd stains and were identified
as thoBe belonging to the prisoner.
The coroner's Jury, with Mr, Jas.
Team as foreman, held an inquest
ycBterday afternoon and their ver
dict was "That Abraham Michael
came to his death by a gun shot
wound In the hands of BenJ John."
EtQl.UfiW. Evidence . was- brought out
at the Inquest except that a colored,
woman stated that sho saw blows
passed between the two men and
then they went down the embank
ment. A few minutes liter she
heard pistol shots.
Mr. U. G. Alexander, Jr., E&TEeen
employed to defend the prisoner.
Given Proper Burial.
A rumor was afloat hre Wednes
day that the dead man had been giv
en an improper burial by placing
hjni in the ground without bolng in
a coffin. This, however, proved to
be one of the many tales that are
started by Idle' gossiper8( \ Mr.
James Team had the burial of the
man in charge and a plain but sub
stnntlal coffin was, used and the
man's grave properly marked in
case any of his relatives should
claim his body.
BIO HA1ILH OF FISH.
A prominent county man who has
been on a visit toAlbermarle. N. ;
where ono of the largest fish
eries on the Atlantic coast. Is , lo* ? ;
cated was telling his friends of tho
immense catches he witnessed while
there. To keep them from think
ing it was the regular old "fish
yarn," he had the cleric at the fish
ery give him some figures which
he had in his possession. Ono of--,
-the records for on& haul wws In the ?~r
spring of 1901 ? April SO, 4,526 k
shad were caught. In April 1910
? -60,000 herring were drawn in' at ,,
one haul. The largest catch on
record was in 187rt whon a single
Wul netted 180,000 herring. An
other notable catch was on May 6,
1876, at 8 a. m.. 38,000 pounds of
rock f*h *was brought in at one
haul, and again on_ the samft...dft*JI? j
at 6 p. m:, lXtffflf pounds of rock
fish, strange to say, said he, there*
were no other kind in the two hauls
excepting rock fish. The fishermen v.',
Care as the reason for the immense'
catch that the seine measuring 2,
400 yards rmn Into a school. ^'Whlls
there he Wlt&eaed many large hauls
himself and said It was interesting
to watch the native women prepar
ing herring for packing ? some clean ^
ing as high as *5 per minute.